Essential information for families

The Family Grapevine is a wonderful resource for families with children from pregnancy to teenagers.

Our free local magazines are packed with information for families and businesses. Find your local magazine using the menu above.

The first Family Grapevine magazine was started in 1995 so last year we celebrated our 22nd anniversary!

Meet Our Editors

Nikki Vine

When I moved to Reigate with my young son in 1995 I found it very hard to find the help and support we needed and also to find the various activities my son wanted to try, I thought other parents might be in the same position so a friend (Sheridan) and I went about collecting lots of information and we published it in the first Family Grapevine magazine. The feedback we got when the magazine was distributed was great. We realised that we were onto something good for all parents and for the local businesses trying to reach those parents.…

Elisha Ward

I joined the group in Summer 2016 and my first edition is due to be published in November 2016. I am looking forward to being part of this well-established, welcoming group and to providing a valuable service to families and businesses in my local area. Area - Oxford and South Oxon What are you most proud of achieving as a part of the Family Grapevine group? It's early days, so I'm pleased to have taken the plunge! What are your hobbies? Savoury baking What is one thing about you that not many people know? I can give an Indian head massage…

Shirley Towle

When I had my first child it was not initially the happy, life-enriching experience I had hoped for and I certainly didn’t look or feel like the radiant new mums in the magazines! After years of being at work I found myself lonely, isolated and suffering from postnatal depression with no idea about where to go or what to do with my new baby or how to meet other new mums. Some years later, while looking for a business opportunity, I came across the Family Grapevine and it was a real ‘light bulb’ moment! I knew from my work with…

Katie Waller

I joined the Family Grapevine group in January 2016. It has always been a goal of mine to work for a magazine, and now I'm an editor of my own! I enjoy working with the great businesses in my local community, providing useful information for local families and being creative. I love to visit the local attractions myself so it's a pleasure to tell others about them too. Areas - Eastbourne Wealden & Lewes What are you most proud of achieving as a part of the Family Grapevine group? My first issue! I learned so much and it was very hard work…

Tina Teearu

I joined in 2004 having spotted an advert in the local Tumble Tots magazine. I realised immediately that there was a need for just this kind of information to be freely available in this area and I felt my skills matched up well with those needed to produce a magazine so I went for it. I'm a keen organiser, fast typist, love playing with graphics on a computer and above all I love working from home. I'd never sold anything in my life, but was willing to give it a try and with Head Office's software and help I soon…

Dawn Bew

I joined the group in 2012 having recently taken redundancy from the civil service after 15 years and wanted a job that fitted in better with my young family. A friend was selling the magazine and I thought it would be perfect! A new challenge, working from home with hours to suit my family. Three years on I now have magazines in two areas and absolutely love it. All the editors support each other including the very supportive directors who are very passionate about the group! Areas – Bromley and Croydon and Sutton What are you most proud of achieving as a…

Niki Hammond

I joined the Family Grapevine group in July 2013. After having worked with children for many years, I was looking for a new challenge and joining the Family Grapevine seemed perfect. It was something that combined the 2 subjects I had been passionate about in my school days - childcare and computers. Having used my local Family Grapevine as my bible of local activities, groups etc over the years myself, I already knew what a fantastic magazine it was and I was excited to be able to help others use it in the same way. What I didn't know before…

Genevieve Arlidge

The Grapevine has been my only publishing experience. I had an inauspicious start and was slow to get off the ground, but my skill sets are all the broader for it now. I am very happy with this path I've taken and don't foresee any further job change! I stumbled across a very early copy of the Family Grapevine in 1997 and answered an advert to join in and do a magazine in my area. This was exactly what I wanted. Working from home, being my own boss, but with support and reassurance in the background should I need it…

Laura Bademosi

I have just joined the Family Grapevine group. I left the corporate world in 2014 to be a stay at home Mum to my two daughters and now the youngest is about to start school I am excited to be embarking on a new challenge. I've always used the magazine to find the best classes, events and days out for our family and now I'm really excited to make the Thames South West edition an invaluable resource for the community. The fact that I can do something really worthwhile without missing out on time with my own family is the…

Katherine Daniel

My background is in the travel industry. I spent 20 years working in various tour operators, travelling the world and having a great time! However it didn't work terribly well with a young family and so I cast around for another career. Quite by chance the Mid Sussex Family Grapevine was recommended to me as a great place to advertise to families. At that point I realised that there were many other Family Grapevines and it was possible to buy a franchise. The rest they say is history. I published the Eastbourne, Wealden & Lewes edition for 9 years and…

Melek De-Wint

I joined the group in March 2017 as I was making a career change from a job with an international charity based in London to something more local in Oxfordshire, where I recently moved into. Having a 2½ year old little girl, I have been familiar with the Family Grapevine and it was my main source of useful information when I first became a mother. So, I know its value first hand and I wanted to offer the same resource and value to the new community I have recently became a part of. Since I have joined, I have found…

Fran Stevens

I am from Lancashire originally and moved to Reigate in the 80’s. As a newcomer, I was very grateful for the Family Grapevine when my children were small. I have since come to love the area – indeed what's not to like! Living on the doorsteps of London and the South Coast, our locale is also blessed as an Area of Natural Beauty dotted with oodles of sites of interest. Now my twins and their younger brother have fully fledged, I will have the time to enjoy nurturing and growing the Family Grapevine in East Surrey. The magazine is such…

Elizabeth Wickenden

I have only just joined the Family Grapevine, but have been given a very warm welcome and so far I am not having any second thoughts! I have been working from home for the last three years editing, proofreading and copywriting, and have also set up social media sites and contributed content online and in local publications, so my previous role was not a million miles from what I expect I will be doing now. I have been used to writing about property and property prices in East London, so the focus of the Family Grapevine will be a nice…

Gil Oliphant

I have been working with The Family Grapevine in a number of roles from distribution, Desktop Publishing and as a caretaker editor for a number of areas. Since Rachel has left Southampton, Eastleigh and Waterside I have taken this area on as a caretaker editor and will give it my all as while I am in that role it is my area and I will be proud of it. Area - Southampton, Eastleigh and Waterside What are you most proud of achieving as a part of the Family Grapevine group? The varied roles that I have played in the Family Grapevine, helping…

Lucy Anns

I joined the Family Grapevine group in the summer and two months in I must say it's been great fun so far with lots to learn but with lots of support along the way. I have worked in marketing and publishing before but this is totally different and it's brilliant having the flexibility to work in your own way with lots of independence but also having people to turn to when you need advice. I am really enjoying the challenge of publishing my first Family Grapevine! Area - Winchester What are you most proud of achieving as a part of the…

Vicky Onah

I joined the Family Grapevine group in 2012 because I was looking for a self-employed career that would allow me to work from home while my son was little. Also, as a parent, I really enjoyed reading my local Grapevine and found it terribly useful. After my son was born I volunteered on my local NCT Committee and was editor of their magazine for about a year before deciding to apply to buy a Grapevine franchise. I love being part of the Family Grapevine Group. Everyone is very friendly and there's a lot of sharing ideas and information with other…

Local Magazine

The Family Grapevine is published three times a year in March, July and November. We take copies to nurseries, children’s centres, health centres, schools, sports centres, libraries, visitor attractions, supermarkets and many more places besides. You can also find the latest issue of each magazine online by selecting your local Family Grapevine using the search box above.